Thoughts with the Nepalese families

We had just arrived at Tengboche when we heard there had been a major avalanche near Everest Camp 1 (which is not the same as Base Camp incidentally). The death toll is currently 13 and may be as high as 20, and all our thoughts went out to those Nepalese families who have lost loved ones. The Sherpa and guiding community is quite small and many people will know someone affected. One of our guides for example had a sibling at one of the other camps, and as you trek along different guides and porters are constantly greeting and knowing each other.

It’s a sad reminder of how dangerous Mt Everest can be. Again thoughts go out to those affected.

Dave Mann

Elaycee

Sheesh… We really have some sad bastards on KB….

DPF posts from the Everest region that several people have been killed in an avalanche and, given the Sherpa community is small in number, it’s inevitable that ‘someone knows someone’ etc. And DPF writes that his groups’ thoughts are with the Nepalese families. All hugely sobering.

I admire DPF’s recent crusade to conquer himself and then expand that out in to the world. Very laudable. I have climbed mountains and tramped too, but not so much these days. I do however enjoy the NZ outdoors. But, the Everest/K2 thing bemuses me; that people feel the need to conquer it. The Western mindset is completely different to the Nepalese, in the same way that Maori never climbed Mt Cook (that we know of). They don’t need to. They’re sacred anyway, so you wouldn’t (now maybe there some wisdom in that). The Nepalese do this to support their families. So what is it with us, this need to risk their and our lives to notch up Everest or K2 etc on our belts? 1 in 10 Everest/K2 climbers dies on the mountain. Their bodies gather like a deep freeze.

I don’t like the tourism aspect of these big mountains. As Hillary said, its becoming a commercial commodity. I’d favour a lay-off of the mountains, like we have with fishing, and allow tramps like David’s to base camp. See the sites, enjoy the challenge, support the Sherpas, but leave the ‘look how high I can pee up this mountain’ Western hubris, a miss. Interested in your thoughts David.

Dean Papa

What a terrible thing to happen. The reports I’ve seen describe it as the worst ever disaster on Everest. It puts a real dampener on DPF’s trip. But these things happen. We’ve seen it recently with the missing plane and now that ferry. Life is fragile. But as they say, why tip-toe through life only to arrive safely at death?

Everest is very touristy, but I don’t believe you can say that of K2. Far fewer people have summited K2, and it is considered to be a far more difficult climb than Everest.

I wonder what technologies they employ, if any, to detect for possibilities of avalanches on Everest?